Reddit (r/SaaS, r/SideProject)
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24 alternatives • Updated August 2026
Hacker News (Show HN) alternatives: 24 places to launch instead
TL;DR • Hacker News (Show HN) alternatives • as of August 2026
The strongest Hacker News (Show HN) alternatives are Reddit (r/SaaS, r/SideProject), DEV Community, Launched by Lovable, Hackernoon, Indie Hackers. All 24 listed below are Tier 1 or Tier 2 destinations with a live submission form, sorted by Domain Rating. Show HN can send thousands of visitors in an hour, but the front page is a lottery. These communities and launch platforms give you a second and third shot at a technical audience.
DEV Community
dev.to
Open-source community platform for developers to share articles, participate in discussions, and grow their careers.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Launched by Lovable
launched.lovable.app
Showcase of projects built with Lovable platform.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Hackernoon
hackernoon.com
Independent technology publishing platform where developers and tech professionals share stories, tutorials, and insights.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Indie Hackers
indiehackers.com
Community of developers who are sharing the strategies behind their companies.
Free
Nofollow
Tier 1
Turbo0
turbo0.com
Fast-track platform for launching products quickly.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Peerlist
peerlist.io
Network and portfolio platform for tech professionals.
Free
Nofollow
Tier 2
Smol Launch
smollaunch.com
Lancio settimanale per indie maker: una settimana intera in home page e listing permanente.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Tinylaunch
tinylaunch.com
Product launch platform with visibility
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Gust
gust.com
Platform connecting startups with angel investors and venture capital for early-stage funding and mentorship.
Free
Nofollow
Tier 2
Growth Hackers
growthhackers.com
Online community for growth professionals sharing strategies, experiments, and growth marketing resources.
Free
Nofollow
Tier 2
ufind.best
ufind.best
Directory a coorti settimanali: i primi 3 per voti ottengono un dofollow a vita da dominio DR 66.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
MakerPad Showcase
makerpad.co
No-code education platform (now part of Zapier) teaching people to build tools and automate workflows without coding.
Free
Nofollow
Tier 2
MicroLaunch
microlaunch.net
Platform for launching and discovering micro startups.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Super Launch
superlaun.ch
A product launch platform cum directory.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Getlatka
getlatka.com
SaaS company database and podcast by Nathan Latka, featuring revenue data and founder interviews.
Free
Nofollow
Tier 2
TinyLaunch
tinylaun.ch
Indie maker launch platform where creators share and discover small projects, tools, and side projects with a supportive community.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Launching Next
launchingnext.com
Platform for announcing upcoming product launches.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
LaunchIgniter
launchigniter.com
Launch Platform
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Open Launch
open-launch.com
Open platform for product launches and feedback.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Confettisaas
confettisaas.com
SaaS product directory and launch platform celebrating new software launches with community engagement.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Launch Vault
launchvault.dev
Product launch platform for startups. Free submissions with high-quality dofollow backlinks and community engagement.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Launched!
launched.io
Product launch announcement platform where founders can share their newly launched products with the community.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Firsto
firsto.co
Firsto is a product‑launch platform tailored for indie makers, developers, and startups. It offers a fair, visibility‑first environment where every submitted project gains exposure
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
How to get real results from directory submissions
What separates a directory worth your time from one that wastes it
Four signals predict whether a listing produces anything: editorial review, indexed traffic, link type and category fit. If a site accepts every submission automatically, its pages are usually thin, poorly indexed and ignored by search engines. If it reviews submissions and has a real audience, a single listing can send buyers for years.
- Editorial review: is there a human approving submissions?
- Indexed traffic: does the directory rank for its own category terms?
- Link type: dofollow passes authority, nofollow does not.
- Category fit: a niche list of 200 relevant readers beats a general list of 200,000 irrelevant ones.
The submission order that works best
Order matters because early listings feed later ones. Journalists and curators check whether a product already exists somewhere credible before featuring it, so a handful of established listings makes later approvals easier and faster.
- Week 0: your own site, Crunchbase-style databases, and two or three evergreen directories.
- Week 1: launch platforms and the communities where your users already hang out.
- Week 2–4: the long tail, batched, plus review platforms once you have customers who can leave reviews.
- Quarterly: re-verify listings and add anything new to the category.
Directory submissions and AI answer engines
Assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers assemble product recommendations from category pages and comparison lists rather than from individual product sites. Being present on the directories that rank for '<category> tools' is now one of the most reliable ways to appear in generated recommendations — even when the link itself is nofollow.
- Prioritise directories whose category pages already rank on page one.
- Use identical product naming and category wording everywhere so entity matching works.
- Keep descriptions factual and specific; vague marketing copy is rarely quoted.
Launching without Hacker News (Show HN): FAQ
Do startup directory submissions still help SEO in 2026?
Yes, but selectively. Low-quality bulk directories were devalued years ago; what still works is a listing on an editorially reviewed site with real traffic. Of the 1077 entries here, 400 pass link equity and 111 sit at Domain Rating 70 or above. Those are the ones that move the needle — the rest are worth doing for referral traffic, brand search and citation in AI answers rather than for rankings.
Dofollow or nofollow — does it matter which directories I use?
Dofollow links pass authority and directly influence rankings, so they are the priority when your goal is domain strength. Nofollow links still earn referral visits, get your brand name indexed alongside your category, and are frequently used as sources by AI assistants. A healthy backlink profile contains both; a profile that is 100% dofollow directory links looks manipulated.
How many directories should I actually submit to?
For a normal launch: the 20 highest-priority destinations in week one, then 50–80 more over the following month. Beyond roughly 150 listings the marginal return collapses. Quality of the listing copy matters more than volume — a well-written Product Hunt launch beats 200 auto-submissions.
What is a good Domain Rating for a directory?
Treat DR 70+ as high value (111 entries here), DR 50–69 as solid, DR 30–49 as fine for volume, and anything under 30 as optional. DR alone is not enough though: an unmoderated DR 80 site with no traffic is worth less than a curated DR 45 newsletter your buyers actually read.
Are paid directory listings worth it?
Occasionally. Paid placement makes sense on review platforms your buyers search (G2, Capterra) and on the two or three category-defining directories in your niche. It rarely makes sense on generic paid lists that promise 100 submissions for a flat fee — those are the sites search engines discount hardest.
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